Gregory of Nazareth: once rated one of England's top young coaches, ex-Aston Villa boss John now plies his trade in Israel

The slicked back hair has more grey than I remember. The face and arms are more tanned than Phil Brown's but, given our location in the heart of Israel, gained without machines or bottles.

However, there is no mistaking the figure of John Gregory, standing in his office underneath the stands of Maccabi Ahi Nazareth's ramshackle Ilut Stadium.

He came to Nazareth to be the city's football messiah. He will leave at the end of the month unfulfilled and devastated after a weekend defeat relegated his Arab club from the Israeli Premier League.

Walkabout: John Gregory (left) in Israel with his Nazareth players

'It is a sad day for me personally and the city of Nazareth,' he says. 'It's tough but I am still very proud of my players and to get so many points was a miracle. They worked so hard but we didn't do enough and we were not good enough. Now we have to deal with the reality of relegation.'

Despite his failure here, Gregory is back in love with the game, but what an earth brought one of English football's finest coaching brains this far in the first place?

Unloved and unwanted in England, after failing to land a job since he was sacked by QPR three years ago, Gregory came in search of work in December.

'I applied for jobs (in England), had one or two interviews and nothing came from them,' he says. 'I suppose a lot of people think I am too much of a risk, a bit of a maverick, but the truth is you don't get to know the person until you work with them. Nevertheless, my attitude was always "It's their loss, so sod it".

'Two Premier League teams changed their manager and things got worse. Sheffield Wednesday did it and they were relegated. I don't miss England and the managerial merry-go-round.'

And then there is a pause. That inevitable pause which comes from every manager who has sampled life in charge of an English club and still has those memories locked in his brain.

'But I'm not saying I wouldn't want the chance to do it again.'

We arrive unannounced, with a translator and photographer in tow. A small group of supporters eye us with a combination of fascination and suspicion as we adjourn to the stadium - 'don't laugh at it,' Gregory pleads - but his embarrassment is perhaps understandable.

Set on the Galilee hills overlooking the dusty city of Nazareth, it is a single-stand construction, including a press box for nine, surrounded by concrete walls. Opposite, on an overgrown slope, are the long abandoned foundations of a new stand. They are not expecting Barcelona any time soon.

We are surrounded by fans, who never miss training or a match, and portly kit-man Hadji Yichye. Gregory's assistant, Najwan Ghrayeb (Naz), the Israeli player he signed at Aston Villa 10 years ago, opens the metal gates and the team head for the adjacent woods for their daily walk, Gregory leading.

No Old Trafford: The Nazareth stadium is a far cry from the Premier League

As a light drizzle starts and the Muazzin's cries from a mosque echo around the hillside, the players return for a winner-stays-on seven-a-side tournament. The coach is wearing a pair of white shorts bearing the initials GG (an error Hadji says Gregory has asked not to be corrected) and he clearly loves the intensity, even 24 hours before a crucial relegation battle.

Gregory played for seven clubs, including Villa, QPR and Derby, whom he went on to manage. He was so versatile as a player, he was the first to appear in every outfield shirt during a season and won six England caps. He looks at home on any football pitch.

He explains his addiction. 'A singer is born to sing, whether it's in front of his granny, on the pub karaoke, or 60,000 at Wembley. That is all he wants to do. I still believe I am a coach and that is what I really enjoy and it doesn't matter where I am.

'For two hours a day I could be anywhere the world. When I am in charge of those players, I could be at Carrington, Bodmore Heath (Aston Villa), the Nou Camp, or Nazareth. That is still the best part of the day.'

Star striker Tomer Hemed and Majed Younes get high fives for a lovely goal. He stands back when two of his defenders square up. He could be in England, after all.

When defender Anderson West flattens Younes with a two-footed tackle there are screams of indignation. 'Anderson,' shouts Gregory, sticking a thumb in the air. 'Well done.' An hour later, Gregory gathers his players in a huddle before they work on set pieces. Eventually they depart.

It has not been an easy time for Gregory or his players. Eight of his squad of 30 have had serious injuries and halfway through the season most went on strike when their wages were stopped. The majority travel from Haifa (20 miles) or Tel Aviv (60 miles), but their loan cars were taken from their homes. Four left in disgust.

'The problem with this club and the management is that everything is 'bocra' - tomorrow. When will we get paid? Bocra. When will things improve? Bocra. And when bocra comes, it is always bocra all over again,' says Mahmoud Ahed, a fan for 35 years.

'When a coach like John who has touched the sky, comes to a place like Nazareth, it makes you very proud. I have talked to him many times and he is a gentleman. I hope he stays for five years.'

Gregory knew what he was taking on but it has often been a lonely battle. Abas Fahoum, the man nearest to a club secretary, disappeared for several weeks because he was getting married the day before the game against Hapoel Ramat Gan. The wedding ended with live rounds fired into the air; Ahi lost 2-0 and were relegated.

The journey to Nazareth goes back 18 months to Gregory's last holiday in Israel, while his love affair with the country goes back to his Villa days.

'I have a lot of Jewish friends in London who kept insisting I come but let's be honest - there were a lot of problems with suicide bombings and conflicts. I kept saying "Yes I'll do it. I'll give you a call". About 10 years ago we had a free weekend at Villa and I'd run out of excuses. I took a sharp intake of breath and went.

'I loved it. It was like Ireland during the Troubles. All you ever saw on the television was bombs going off but when you visited of course you saw none of that. I came to Israel, watched some football and saw nothing untoward - just sunshine, beaches, bars and wonderful, friendly people.'

Love of the game: Gregory says he is happy to work with players anywhere

Two years ago, as Ahi chased promotion, Ghrayeb first approached Gregory. But his new joint business in mobile phones for celebrities was taking off and Gregory was content with a life of golf and TV punditry. Or so he thought.

'I went to Nazareth, talked long and hard to Naz but turned it down,' he explains. 'But at the back of my mind I really regretted it, particularly when they won promotion.

'It came round again a year later and I just thought "why not do it for six months?"

'But I cannot begin to explain the problems the club have and what the players have had to put with. It is a miracle we won so many games. But when you have to deal with Doug Ellis every day, or cope with Stan Collymore and his depression, and try to put a smile on Paul Merson's and Gareth Southgate's faces, you can deal with any situation.'

We are standing back outside Gregory's office. Younes, a towel wrapped round his midriff, sees us. 'Come, come,' says the defender who is one of 10 players on loan. 'You must eat and drink.'

Players in the dressing room barely bat an eyelid, as Younes hands us pitta bread covered in a local herb called za'tar and points to water and a delicious Arab sweet called khnaffe. This particular bright orange delicacy might explain the slight paunch under Gregory's red bib.

As Akko coach Yaron Hochenboim told me: 'Nazareth may not be the best team but they definitely have the best food.'

Record: Gregory (right) was the first to play in all outfield positions in a season

Gregory admits: 'I have put about three kilos on. The first meal I went to they brought out about 15 different dishes, loads of hummus and salads, an amazing array, and I finished and said "Right that's me, see you tomorrow, thank you" and they said "Hold on. We haven't had the meat and fish dishes yet".

'This is like no dressing room I have seen and certainly not the cleanest. I have tried,' says the manager. 'I am not above sweeping the place clean, it makes me feel better.'

It is 15 by 12 paces but is also trophy cabinet, museum, restaurant, canteen, weights room, treatment room, social club, as well as the changing area. Outside there is a handwritten sign in Arabic, a plea from Hadji, to drink coffee outdoors.

Inside, the signs are scribbled in English, as is the team list. No Pain, No Gain. Winning Hurts, says one. The Strong Survive and Keep on Fighting. The Weak Give Up and Disappear, says another.

Mahmoud Ga'ahia, doyen of Arab football for more than 30 years, shares the view of many. 'People are asking why Gregory is not coaching in England. We do not understand it. I asked him why and he says he does not have a place in England anymore. That is why he came to Israel.

'He feels he has a point to prove but he is at a club with massive problems. I do not know anyone who would put up with it. For example, a chairman who had invested a lot of money took the microphone at half-time and announced "I have just resigned" because the fans were chanting against him.

'Chairmen run away. Players do not get paid and don't turn up for training, and their cars are taken away but Gregory carries on as if nothing has happened.

'He would be crazy to stay. There are too many problems, too many politics.'

Sport 5's Idan Kweller is one of Israel's most influential political
commentators by day. 'If only we had the Sky Sports format,' he admits.
'Describing the action and making it sound exciting would be so much
better than watching the real thing.'

He regularly interviews leading figures in the uncompromising world of Israeli/Palestine politics but has been impressed with Gregory, a studio pundit for his channel's Champions League coverage.

Kweller said: 'Actually he is one of the nicest people I have ever interviewed. The Israelis are not so nice after a game but John is always a gentleman, even when he has lost and he can be very diplomatic and funny. For instance when a referee makes a bad decision he will say he needs some glasses.

'He is very charming and complimentary about Israeli football even though we know there may not be much to be complimentary about and what I find confusing is that he is in Israel at all. OK, so there may not be work in the Premier League, but why come here and why Nazareth?'

Using a unique combination of English, Hebrew and Arabic, Gregory, a ball almost constantly at his feet, orchestrates the warm-up in time to Marwan's drumming, which starts long before he appears in the club's black sweat-top and white match-day shorts without the GG lettering.

When the game starts, Gregory barely sits beside Ghrayeb, at one point knocking over an advertising board in front of the away dug-out. He loses patience with referee Liran Liani as a number of key decisions go against his team, particularly in the build-up to the first goal which ends with a rare moment of class in a poor game on a unpredictable pitch.

The PA announcer beside him wildly announces another goal and dances on the pitch. Gregory hurls a water bottle and finishes the defeat with a finger-wagging at the young referee.

Gregory 's contract with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth ends on Saturday. He does not know where his future lies. But Israel certainly appeals.

'I am not saying it is Utopia but it is nice to turn up in your shorts to work everyday,' he says 'You never have to worry the ground might be frozen and in the afternoon you can go to the beach for a couple of hours. It has its benefits and I would not rule it out.

'There has been a lot of talk of other clubs here and Nazareth have said they will be in a better state and may offer an extension. I have to talk to them. I have really enjoyed my time here. Whether I want to take it is another thing.'

If not, don't rule out a return to England. And perhaps the tan and the grey flecks will not be the only change we will notice.

'I am a lot more patient than I was 10 years ago. I didn't handle things as well as I could have but you learn from your mistakes.

'Even at my age, you think you've seen everything and then you get a job like this.'